


One Last Perfect Day

by casey_sms (shinygreenwords), shinygreenwords



Category: The Social Network
Genre: Angst, Community:tsn_kinkmeme, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, Translation Available, Unresolved Sexual Tension, 中文翻译 | Translation in Chinese
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-16
Updated: 2011-01-16
Packaged: 2017-10-14 20:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/152969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinygreenwords/pseuds/casey_sms, https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinygreenwords/pseuds/shinygreenwords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This will be the moment he goes back to.</p><p>For <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/390.html?thread=969094#t969094">this prompt</a> at <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/tsn_kinkmeme/"><b>tsn_kinkmeme</b></a> requesting an angsty!Mark scenario – “The night after Eduardo had signed the papers of share dilution, Eduardo crashed at Mark's apartment (assuming Facebook had moved out of the rental house near Stanford). Neither of them could sleep, Eduardo because of the excitement, Mark because he knew this was the point of no return. So they stayed up all night, and watched a California sunrise together before Eduardo boarded his flight back to Harvard.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Last Perfect Day

**Author's Note:**

> **Warning/Kinks:** Angst, some hints of unresolved sexual tension and daddy!issues from Eduardo but that’s practically on par for the course by now. More pre-slash than slash. Also spoilers for ‘Bridge to Terabithia’ which I actually haven’t read but I saw the movie and used SparkNotes O:)
> 
> There is a [Chinese translation](http://www.mtslash.com/viewthread.php?tid=17396&extra=page%3D1) available (needs login) with much thanks to [bristone](http://bristone.livejournal.com/).

Believe it or not, Mark did feel. Not the moment the words left his mouth, “I need my CFO.” No. Not even when he knew Eduardo had fallen for it. It was when Eduardo said, “Remember the algorithm on the window at Kirkland?” It was then Mark felt guilty about what he was going to do. To his Best Friend. But Mark did not feel guilty enough undo what he just did. This will be the moment he goes back to, when he could have stopped it.

He remembers having to read ‘Bridge to Terabithia’ for Elementary School and getting to Chapter Ten – ‘The Perfect Day’. His teacher had read it out that afternoon and told the class, whenever there is a perfect day, something will go wrong. But did the reverse apply? If you knew something was going to go wrong, then do you get a perfect day?

Mark doesn’t need to see to know that Eduardo signed the papers with a grin. He isn’t surprised to see Eduardo hanging around, dressed impeccably as always. He has two coffees in hand, he hands Mark his. He keeps his own in his hand with the ring, his long fingers cradling the paper cup.

“Here. Whipped cream on top, to celebrate,” Eduardo says. “Drink.”

Mark does. It tastes perfectly bittersweet, exactly the way he likes it. “Thanks,” he says, finding it hard to look at Eduardo. He doesn’t know what drives him to say, “You staying with us tonight?”

Eduardo gives him a fond smile like he’s weird but he loves him anyway. “Course, I said I would. Plus, a beach house is way better than a hotel room. Nice choice.”

It was actually Sean who picked it but Eduardo doesn’t need to know that. Mark hums, putting his coffee aside.

“I’ll let you finish up, don’t work too hard,” Eduardo claps a hand on his shoulder lightly. “We did it. You deserve a break.”

Mark doesn’t know what to say so he pretends to be too absorbed in coding to reply.

***

Mark gets back late, he wanted to avoid going back at all but pretending to work is lame. Plus, he’s not that much of an asshole. It’s weird that it bothers him that he might come off that way because in a few months, Eduardo won’t thank him for this. Wardo probably won’t even speak to him, unless it is to cuss him out and/or to serve him his papers.

Eduardo heats up his dinner, bringing him a beer with it. He’s already twisted the top off.

Mark nods his thanks. They sit there for a while, Eduardo thrumming with silent excitement, pacing a little.

Mark thinks, if something was going to go wrong, he’d want to know. If he was Eduardo, he’d want to know. But he’s not. Eduardo would never do this to him. Eduardo will know eventually anyway. Because let’s be honest, if you knew something was going to go wrong and you couldn’t, wouldn’t turn back then do you tell your best friend that you will fuck him over? Of course not. Because if he were the type of honorable person to tell him then he wouldn’t fuck his best friend over. A good friend would tell but Mark is not a good friend. He is an opportunist – he will be a creator, a pioneer, a destroyer – whatever he needs to be to fuel his vision. No matter what sentimental attachments he may have towards Wardo, Mark is not going to change his mind. Facebook is moving forward. Eduardo is a necessary sacrifice for success. Telling him now would be stupid. There is no point in spoiling the perfect day.

Mark waits until he’s a few drinks in before saying, “Wardo?”

“Yeah?” he replies, sitting down on the porch next to Mark. It’s a fine night, not too cold.

Mark feels a tiny bit of relief at Eduardo answering him. He wants to use his name as much as possible because he knows he’ll lose the right to do it. They have already passed the point of no return 2600 miles ago, during the phone call or maybe it was back in Kirkland.

“D’you ever think, what would you do if you knew it was the last day?”

“Like if I had one day to live?” Eduardo wrinkles his forehead.

“Something like that,” Mark replies, waving his hand around.

“You must be wasted,” Eduardo comments, the corners of his eyes crinkling in amusement. “You hate hypotheticals. Trust you to be a depressed drunk. We’re supposed to be celebrating.”

Eduardo seems to remember everything about him. Mark doesn’t even remember saying it of the sort even if it’s true. Mark shrugs and takes another sip.

“Man,” Eduardo says, putting his beer down. “I don’t know. I’d probably stay up. Watch the sunrise or something if I can. Might as well enjoy the little things. What would you do?”

“Probably drink,” Mark lies. “Networks would be down. I could get them up but why bother?”

Eduardo laughs. He rakes a hand through his hair, it bounces back into place almost magically. “So that’s what it takes to get you away from Facebook. The end of the world. That’s dedication.”

Mark feels his throat go dry. He goes to get another drink for himself, saying to the fridge, “Your plan sounds better.”

“Well…I know you don’t normally sleep until five, six a.m but I don’t think I can sleep even if I should.” Eduardo grins brightly. His teeth are white and even. “Maybe we should watch the sunrise. Just in case. Not long now.”

Mark is always surprised at the amount of arbitrary minutiae Eduardo retains about him. He’s assuming Wardo has an early flight, or maybe he has something else to do, he doesn’t know. When he looks at Wardo so happy, part of him tells him that it’s wrong, _he’s_ wrong. He shuts it down. It’s done now. He checks his watch. Wardo is right. “Yeah, not long now,” he echoes. “Just in case.”

“Just in case you get too successful?” Eduardo teases.

Eduardo shuffles over and slings an arm around Mark. Mark can feel his arm warm all the way around the back of his shoulders. When Mark turns to look at Eduardo, they are so close together that they could kiss. It’s an odd thing to notice but Mark becomes hyperaware of their thighs touching, Eduardo’s hand holding his shoulder and how Eduardo’s eyes are the shade of chocolate. Mark is suddenly reminded of Erica, before they fell apart and how she kissed him first. Eduardo’s eyes don’t accuse him of anything and his lips don’t curse Mark. Eduardo doesn’t ask if he has anything he needs to tell him because he trusts Mark. He trusts him completely.

“10 years from now, I want to say, remember this? Like Kirkland, we’ll be saying, remember Palo Alto and that time we watched the sunrise together?” Eduardo says. He thinks about the deal he’s signed. He can live with Sean. It’s not important. The four of them, they’ve created something great and they’ve made it. He’s made it. This will be the moment he goes back to for the rest of his life. He can finally prove to his father that he’s not a failure. He feels like a weight is being lifted off his chest.

The first rays of sunlight rise up and then slowly but surely, it paints the world in chameleonic colors. It almost appears too picturesque, impossibly tranquil.

Mark is glad that Eduardo is so transfixed by the sunrise that he doesn’t realize Mark is barely looking at the sunrise but at the absolute bliss on Wardo’s face.

“Wow,” Eduardo says a little breathlessly. “This is amazing. To think, this is just the beginning.”

  
 _In my head I replay our conversations  
Over and over ‘til they feel like hallucinations  
You know me? I love to lose my mind  
And every time anybody speaks your name  
I still feel the same  
I ache, I ache, I ache inside_ \- ‘The Last Day On Earth’ by Kate Miller-Heidke

  



End file.
